


Ode to a Past Rewritten

by EmmmaMmmm



Series: Andreil's Adventures in Parenthood [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Adoption, Child Neglect, Explicit Language, Future Fic, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Married Life, Nicky is useless, Past Child Abuse, Post-Canon, Sort Of, Uncle Kevin needs attention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26166199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmmaMmmm/pseuds/EmmmaMmmm
Summary: Neil and Andrew would never have considered adopting a child if fate hadn't intervened.Or, in which the Josten-Minyards find a little boy cowered on their porch and neither of them have the heart to turn him away.
Relationships: Katelyn/Aaron Minyard, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: Andreil's Adventures in Parenthood [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963696
Comments: 31
Kudos: 471





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so first of all, not edited. Which means this could have many mistakes (I doubt it though) and it could be really rambly (I doubt that a little bit less). Overall, though, I like what I've got thus far.
> 
> I'm pretty sure that there's going to be less explicit language in this than my other stories? But don't quote me on that because at this point, every other word I say is a curse word and that tends to translate through my writing. Anyway, point being that if explicit language is a trigger then that's a problem for this chapter? But I think that should be the only trigger for this chapter?

Neil had grown to appreciate the benefits of a long drive with Andrew at the wheel. Of course, they'd been going on them for years, especially in the comedown after a particular intense nightmare. More than once, Neil had shot up in the middle of the night and Andrew had been waiting for him by the door with his keys by the time he had calmed down a little bit.

But sometimes, like today, they were just an excuse to exist side by side. Andrew was years away from the last time he'd denied their relationship, months away from the days when he'd dragged Neil to a courthouse to exchange rings and vows that they'd both known anyway. Now, Andrew was more than comfortable admitting to Neil that he took a certain amount of comfort in his presence.

Andrew's window was rolled all the way down. Earlier, he'd been holding a cigarette, blowing the smoke outside as he drove, but it had long since burned down and both of them were doing their best to give up smoking for good considering their careers as athletes, so he hadn't thought to light up another one. Not that he really could, anyway - there hadn't been a cigarette lighter in the car for a long time.

The wind rocked the car a little as they rumbled down the freeway, Andrew's hair flying everywhere and making the light bounce off of it and around the car. Neil thought it might be the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Andrew had never explicitly said that he could stare during their car journeys, but he also had never told him not to when they were in the car, so he took that as the permission that it was and spent long hours just watching the curl of his lips and the way his jaw tensed whenever somebody cut him off.

His husband was beautiful.

Andrew had to pull off of the freeway eventually though, and soon they were rattling down the street towards their house. Theirs.

In the past, Neil had thought he would never live long enough to buy a house, let alone one that he shared with his husband, but once they'd been transferred to the same team, the Washington Eagles, they'd really had no excuse. It wasn't excessive, really - a two bedroom, one bathroom cabin with a nice sized back garden and easy access to a river from said garden - but it was home and it was theirs.

Andrew pulled into the driveway, but he didn't get out straight away, his eyes instead fixed on something he could see in the rearview mirror. Neil followed his gaze.

"What is that?"

Andrew shook his head. "Stay in the car."

"What?" Neil gaped. "I'm not helpless-"

"No, but you don't carry weapons," said Andrew, rolling his eyes and letting his fingertips trail along the armbands that covered his forearms. "Stay here. Come after me and I'll stab you myself."

"Liar."

He didn't respond. Instead, he unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out of the car, watching the small lump just in front of their door. Neil watched through the windows as he got closer to the lump, ready to brandish a knife at a moment's notice, before he froze just at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the porch.

"Neil." His voice sounded choked. He didn't often sound so affected by things (Neil could count the amount of times it had happened on one hand) so when he did, Neil knew that it was serious.

He climbed out of the car and approached slowly. It was easy enough to figure out what had Andrew so affected.

Curled up in front of the door, as though trying to hold in his body heat, was a little boy. Neil didn't have much experience with children, but if he had to hazard a guess, he'd say the child was probably about two or three and skinnier than Neil thought he probably should be. It was just getting into autumn and there was a chill in the air, but the boy was just wearing a striped blue and white t-shirt and matching blue shorts, with trainers that must have once been white but now looked faded and muddy.

"What the fuck?"

Andrew barely glanced up at him. Neil was more than used to reading Andrew's emotions but it wasn't exactly difficult to look at him and put together how tense he was feeling - he could read it in every single part of his body. Neil would do anything to end that, so he stepped up onto the porch and knelt down.

"Hey, kid?" When the boy didn't immediately respond, Neil reached out and just lightly shook his arm. "You okay?"

The boy woke sharply, his hands twitching for a moment before he saw Neil's face looming over him. He said nothing, but he did let out a small, throat whine and curl in on himself, wrapping his arms around his knees.

"Sorry, kid," said Neil, this time doing his best to sound as soft as he was able to. "Is everything okay? Where are your parents?"

The boy lifted a tiny fist to his eye, rubbing at it gently. Neil didn't have much experience with children, but even he knew that this boy was adorable, with deep green eyes and hair just a few shades darker than Andrew's.

"Alright, let's start with something easier," he continued, when the boy remained silent. "Do you have a name?"

The boy seemed to be thinking for a moment, lowering his fist from his eye and instead sticking his thumb in his mouth, sucking it for a moment before he lowered it.

"Harry."

Neil smiled as warmly as he could, pushing away thoughts of his father and focusing instead on what needed to be done.

"I'm Neil," he said slowly, then shuffled to the side a little to point to Andrew. "That's my husband, Andrew. Do you have parents looking for you?" Harry shook his head. "Okay. Do you want to come in for a few minutes while we figure out how we can help you?"

Harry seemed to think about that for a moment too, then he nodded slowly and clambered to his feet, holding his hand outstretched towards Neil. He didn't understand, at first, what Harry was trying to do but when Andrew sighed a long-suffering sigh and nudged him, he realised and reached out to take his hand in his own. It was ice-cold.

Harry clung to Neil's hand like it was a lifeline as Andrew moved past them and unlocked the door. It was a strange feeling - he held hands with Andrew from time to time but even despite Andrew's height, his hands were a lot bigger than Harry's and where Andrew might have done some damage clinging to Neil like this, the weight of Harry's hand was more gentle, as though he was just looking for reassurance that somebody was there.

As they stepped inside, the look on his face was pure wonder. Neil felt Harry's hand loosening around his and let go completely to see what he would do. He hardly seemed to notice, though. Instead, he looked at the Olympic gold medals on the wall, the Exy racquets suspended above their bookcase (Andrew had protested that when Neil suggested it, but he had also been the one to hang them up so Neil suspected that he didn't hate it quite as much as he claimed to). He started to talk towards the bookcase, then froze and looked back at them.

"Go ahead." Neil nodded and he smiled at that, toddling towards the bookcase.

Andrew stepped up beside him. "We are out of our depth, Abram."

"Yeah." Neil reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Who would know best how to sort out a kid?"

Andrew leaned over and tugged the phone out of his hand, dialling quickly and holding it out on speaker mode. It rang out a few times, then there was a click.

"Neil! Baby! You never call me!" Nicky cheered. "God, we never talk any more, what's going on in your life, hm?"

Neil kept his eyes on Harry as he leaned closer to the bookcase. He was pretty sure that he was too young to know how to read yet, but he had a considering look on his face that was confusing Neil and making him question his knowledge of children.

"We have a child in our house." Andrew spoke instead. Nicky was quiet for a moment - it hardly seemed fair that it took an actual child to get some silence out of Nicky.

"Did you kidnap them?"

"Why the fuck would we kidnap a child? What the fuck would we do with a child?" Andrew paused at the end, his eyes flickering towards Harry. "We do not know what to do with him."

"Well what did your foster families do with you when you were a kid?" Andrew winced, but Nicky seemed to realise the mistake as soon as he'd made it. "I mean... I didn't..." Andrew hung up.

"Nicky was not helpful," he said finally.

Neil hummed in response, keeping an eye on Harry as he looked through the books. "Matt and Dan?"

Andrew said nothing in response, just dialled again and set the phone to speaker mode. Matt picked up almost straight away.

"Neil!" Harry jumped a little at the loud exclamation and Neil instinctively knelt down a few feet away. Harry toddled over and squeezed at his knees for a moment, then returned to looking at the books. "Hey buddy! You never call me - what's up?"

"Boyd." Andrew would've usually been more insulting but he was trying to think of a way to describe what he'd just seen without using the word 'adorable'. "Not Neil."

"Oh." There was a moment of silence, then a shuffling noise. "Is everything okay, Andrew?"

"We have a child in our house," called Neil and another pause followed. Andrew wondered if Matt would make his own stupid comment or if he was smarter than Nicky.

"How did it get in there?" Andrew sighed. "Wait, did you say a child?"

Andrew hung up. "Boyd was not helpful either."

Neil smiled weakly. He seemed uncomfortable with the idea of getting too far away from Harry, apparently already parental instincts kicking in that made him desperate to stick by his side. Andrew sighed. The fact that Neil might be getting attached to Harry, even after just ten minutes of knowing him, was worrying and it made him all that more desperate for a solution.

"Last resort," he mumbled and dialled a third number.

It rang out. He tried again. This time there was an answer. "You'd better have a good fucking reason for calling me, Josten. Katelyn and I have our first night off together in months and I don't wanna waste that on you."

"There is a child in our house." Andrew didn't waste any time clarifying that he wasn't Neil or getting annoyed at Aaron for still, after all these years, being so strongly against his husband.

Aaron hummed, the only sign that he'd heard what Andrew said. "Why are you calling? Specifically, I mean."

"What are we supposed to do?"

"Where did you find them?"

Andrew leaned against the doorframe, watching as Harry moved away from the bookcase, finally, and headed back towards Neil, reaching his hands out to him as if asking Neil to pick him up. Neil misinterpreted, taking his hands instead, but Harry seemed happy with that, swinging them for a moment before tugging them towards him to watch them as if they were a great mystery.

"Curled up in a ball outside our front door." Andrew watched Harry trace the burns on the back of Neil's hands. "It's fu-really cold outside, Aaron. Could he..." Andrew gritted his teeth. "Could he have frostbite? Or hypothermia?"

"It's unlikely that he'd have frostbite," mused Aaron. "Is he shivering?"

"Not anymore."

"Slurred speech? Pale skin? How is his breathing?"

Andrew stepped closer and knelt down by Neil's side. "Speech is clear. His skin isn't pale. Breathing..." He leaned a little closer, thankful that Harry was too distracted by Neil's scars to notice Andrew's proximity. "Breathing is fine."

"Then he should be in the clear." Aaron cleared his throat. "You're going to need to call the police, Andrew. And actually speak to them."

He grimaced. "Whatever."

"Let me know how it goes."

Andrew hung up before Aaron could even think of saying anything earnest. Harry looked up at him for the first time, eyes full of wonder that Andrew couldn't quite remember. As he looked up, though, Andrew noticed the faint bruise across his temple. He glanced across to Neil. From there, he could see the tense set of his jaw and the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fists now that Harry had let go of his hands. Oh yes, Neil had noticed.

"Okay, Harry," said Andrew, standing up. "I think we should find your parents, hm?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so for the record before you read this, I know next to nothing about the police in my own country, let alone america so this could be completely unrealistic. I also know very little about foster licenses but that's something I researched so it's not that detailed but I think it's detailed enough that it makes sense.
> 
> I think I'm gonna try and post a chapter every Friday until it's done? But I've hit some major writers block for the next chapter so no promises.
> 
> Um trigger warnings for this chapter are references to past rape and implicit references to child neglect (so implicit that you could blink and miss it but it's still there so fair warning).

Neil only personally knew one police officer in his life: Officer Higgins, who had messed up when trying to catch Andrew's abuser and left him open to one more incident. Of course, that incident had led to the death and subsequent removal of said abuser, but that didn't excuse the fact that Drake shouldn't have been able to make it out of Oakland and to Columbia in the first place.

So he didn't really have good experiences in the past with police officers being efficient. Plus, his father had impressed upon him the importance of never speaking to police officers, of never trusting them. The scar on his shoulder was enough to remind him to never let his guard down when it came to police officers.

Suffice to say, walking into a police station felt a bit like a betrayal of everything he'd been raised to be, but it was a necessary evil. Harry's needs outweighed their own. A child could not be left to fend for themself - that was something that he and Andrew had agreed upon without any discussion. In fact, it had been more like a shared look before they both bundled Harry up in an old coat of theirs and strapped him into the car.

"I think, legally, he should be sat in a car seat," said Neil quietly.

Andrew started the car. "He's wearing three seatbelts, Neil. He could not be safer."

Neil flicked a glance backwards in Harry's direction. He was sat in the middle of the backseat, with every seatbelt pulled across to make sure that he was extra safe. The coat that they'd given him was padded and given how tiny he was, it dwarfed him. He'd been giggling since they'd put it on him. Neil wanted to cry.

"Neil."

He looked back at Andrew. There was a look of warning in his eyes that Neil could interpret easily: _don't get attached. We're not keeping him. This isn't like your cats. We can't keep him._

Neil nodded, looking towards the front of the car. His mother was British - British people had invented the stiff upper lip. Instead of letting himself acknowledge it, he reached out and pressed a button on the radio, turning it on to a popular music station. As a new song started, Harry giggled in the backseat and started singing along. Neil sent a distressed look towards Andrew; Andrew reached out and intertwined his free hand with Neil's, squeezing it just gently before he just held it.

Their local police station was filled with all sorts of self-righteous prats who liked to lord their power over the "regular people". Neil unbuckled Harry and held his hand as they were walking in, or at least he did until Harry tugged at his hand and then held both arms up to him. Andrew leaned closer.

"He wants you to pick him up."

He didn't say that he thought it was a bad idea, that Neil already felt dangerously close to Harry and that holding Harry that close to him would only make that worse. They both knew that anyway. Neil was going to do what he wanted regardless, and he did so, swinging Harry up and resting him on his hip. Harry squealed in delight, lifting his arms to wrap them around Neil and resting his head on his shoulder.

Andrew let Neil lead the way to a police officer that looked somewhat less self-righteous and prattish than the others. His badge read Officer Henson. At his first glance, he seemed tense, his eyes flicking for a moment to the scars written across Neil's face, but then his eyes fell to the boy snuggled up in his arms.

"How can I help you?"

Neil gestured towards Harry. "We found him outside our house. We were wondering..." He swallowed the bile that was building in his throat at the prospect of actually talking to a police officer. "We were wondering if there were any missing child cases."

Henson raised his eyebrows, but led them towards a computer and began clicking through it.

"Does the kid have a name?"

"He says it's Harry." Harry twitched a little against Neil and he brought one hand up to rest it on his back. He settled right away. Neil nudged at him gently. "Do you know your full name, Harry?"

Harry clung to the back of Neil's jacket for just a moment, then looked up at him. "Harry James Wilson. That's what Mama calls me when she's mad at me."

Henson smiled a little up at him as Harry shifted to look at Andrew. "And how old are you, Harry?" Harry lifted his hand up to suck at his thumb for a moment, then stretched out his hand with his fingers and thumb outstretched. "Five? Wow, you're so big!"

Neil exchanged an alarmed look with Andrew, but Andrew seemed to have already drawn that conclusion. When Neil thought that Harry was two or three, he was small for his age. If he was five, he was emaciated. Neil looked back to Henson - he looked as though he'd swallowed a lemon, so he had apparently clicked on as well.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence. Andrew didn't speak, but he let Harry play with one of his hands which was enough of a show of trust that Neil didn't interject. Henson clicked away at his computer but finally, he broke away with a sigh.

"I can't find any missing child cases that match Harry's description," he said finally. "We can keep an eye out, but we'll need to do something with him in the meantime."

Andrew sighed quietly, his gaze flicking up to the ceiling. He nudged at Neil's hand.

"We can keep him with us until you find his parents." Neil hesitated before continuing. "We have a foster license."

After their wedding, they had been planning on fostering a child eventually. Andrew had still been working his way up to it, with past memories lingering in his mind for months, but they had always planned on taking one in at some point and if Harry needed them, they were more than willing.

Henson raised his eyebrows, looking between Andrew and Neil for a moment, then he nodded. "There'll be some paperwork. Some forms to fill out - of course we'll need a copy of it."

Andrew sighed again, reaching into his pocket and taking out a folded set of papers. Neil wondered if he'd had an idea of how this would go, and therefore brought their licenses in preparation. Henson looked them over for a moment and nodded.

"It might also help if we take some sort of DNA sample from Harry," he added, gesturing towards him with one hand. "If there's any DNA on file for any relatives, we'll be able to find them." Neil sent a panicked look towards Andrew. "Just a cheek swab!" Henson held his hands out as though doing his best to calm a wild animal. "Nothing excessive."

"Harry," said Neil gently, "is it okay for them to take a cheek swab from you?"

"What's that?"

Neil swept his hand back gently. "They're going to take a cotton bud and run it along the inside of your cheek. It won't take long. It might feel a bit weird but it'll help us find your family."

Harry hummed quietly then nodded. "Okay, Neil."

Leaving the police station hours later felt like walking through the gates of Heaven. Andrew glared back over his shoulder at the building as he took Neil's hand and led him towards the car. Neil's other hand was tight around Harry's; he'd had to put him down in order for Henson to take a cheek swab sample from him, and since then Harry had been clinging to Neil's hand like he might disappear.

Andrew paused outside a baby store and let go of Neil's hand in order to step inside. As Neil waited, he gently led Harry to the glass front and knelt down in front of him.

"Are you okay with coming home with us for a bit, Harry?"

Harry looked Neil over with sparkling eyes. Neil wondered if he'd ever been so unabashedly happy. Finally, he nodded.

"Mama would be mad," he said quietly.

Neil tensed a little, but rather than pursue the issue any further, he swept Harry's hair out of his face and waited for Andrew to return, which he did almost twenty minutes later, weighed down by a car seat and what looked to be two or three bags of clothes and toys.

Neil lifted Harry into his arms and followed Andrew to the car, keeping as close to him as possible until he could lean up to whisper in his ear.

"It's not just me that's getting attached, huh?"

"Shut up."

Neil smiled weakly. "He's a great kid."

Andrew glanced towards Harry, who was preoccupied in watching a ladybird as it landed on his wrist. "He's not ours." _But I wish he was._ He didn't say it out loud - he didn't need to. Both he and Neil were thinking it anyway.

They pulled into the driveway again and it didn't feel like it had only been a few hours since they'd found Harry curled up on their doorstep. Neil got out and reached into the backseat to help a drowsy Harry to unclip his seatbelt and climb out of the car. He lifted him and settled him on his hip, grabbing one of the bags from the boot in the other, before following Andrew up onto the porch and into the house.

Harry scrambled to get down as soon as they were inside and Neil acquiesced, setting him on the ground and watching as he headed straight for the bookcase again. Andrew set down the bags, making his way to Neil's side.

"Five years old." Neil swallowed thickly. "He's so small."

"We can't keep collecting strays." Neil heard the dismay in his voice though, and he knew that it wasn't just him feeling such a strange attachment to Harry.

The attachment felt like a physical string as Harry noticed Sir resting along the back of the sofa and gasped, stumbling over with his hands outstretched. "Kitty!"

Neil leaned back towards Andrew and Andrew caught him without thinking, one hand on his hip to balance him and the other laying around the front of his shoulders.

"If they can't find any relatives for him?"

Andrew took a deep, shuddering breath. Neil felt the way his chest expanded against his back. "If they can't find any relatives for him, we will cross that bridge when we come to it."

His lips just brushed against Neil's jaw before he stepped away. "Harry? Are you allergic to anything?"

Harry looked up. He had settled himself on the sofa and let Sir crawl into his lap. "What?"

Andrew turned on his heels, facing Neil. "After this stray, no more."

Neil took that for what it was - a promise that if no relatives could be found for Harry, they would do whatever they could to take him in themselves. He leaned against the doorframe, watching the way Harry cuddled Sir close to his chest and the way Andrew hovered close enough that he could step in if Sir changed her mind about being stroked. He saw a lifetime of this stretching out in front of them, and he wanted it so bad that it became an ache in his chest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is completely unedited bc SOMEBODY (me) dropped their laptop and broke the touchpad. It was me. I'm the dumb dumb. That might also mess with the update schedule for a while, especially given that I'm heading back to uni in a couple weeks. But, you know. I'll try and keep it to every Friday. Anyway. Enjoy.
> 
> Soooo content warnings I guess: implied child neglect, explicit language. Think that's it though?

Waking up to a child climbing on your face is not something that Neil thought he would ever experience, but the day after they found Harry on their doorstep, it happened.

When Neil opened his eyes, he wasn't all too surprised by the blonde hair because after all this time, if he wasn't used to seeing blonde hair when he woke up, it would be strange. He was surprised by green eyes and tiny cartoon character pyjamas. He was equally surprised by tiny hands poking at his cheek.

"Neil?" Harry's voice was a whisper, as though he wasn't trying to wake Neil up even as he tried to poke him awake. Next to Neil, Andrew let out a groan and rolled over. "Neil? Are you awake?"

Neil sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, I'm awake, Harry." He turned to look at the clock. "You're awake early."

Harry paled. "Sorry. I can go back to bed-"

"It's okay." Andrew cut in, rolling towards them both. "Did you sleep well?"

Harry nodded, shuffling a little where he was sat on Neil's torso. It would have been painful if it was anyone else, but Harry weighed next to nothing. After a moment, he shook his head.

"Had a bad dream." He lifted his hand up to suck his thumb.

Neil winced. "Do you wanna hear a secret, Harry?" When Harry nodded, Neil shifted him so that he was on his lap and not his chest, and then sat up. "I had a bad dream too."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Mama said that grown ups don't have bad dreams!"

"Well, Mama was wrong," said Neil, ignoring the way that Andrew stiffened beside them. "Do you want breakfast now?"

Harry ate less than Neil would've expected a five year old boy to eat, but given how skinny he was, he shouldn't have been surprised. He made a mental note to do his best to get him to a regular weight while he was with them, however long that may be. Andrew, too, seemed to be watching the way Harry pushed his plate away after eating about half of the scrambled eggs they put in front of him.

"What do you want to do today?" Neil rested his elbows on the table, leaning across to look at Harry.

He hummed, tapping at his chin. "Mama says I should do as I'm told."

Andrew's jaw tensed. "Does she take you to the park?" Harry shook his head. "Do you want to go to the park?" Harry hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" Harry's eyes bulged with excitement.

Neil nodded, reaching over to take his plate. "Go get dressed. We'll take you to the park."

Harry scrambled down from the seat and ran out into the hallway, excitement clear in every twitch of his hands, in every other footstep which was more of a skip than a step. Neil cleared his plate and set it in the dishwasher and sat himself opposite Andrew. He didn't look up.

"The park?"

His gaze flicked upwards for just a moment. "I would have killed to go to the park as a five year old."

Neil, not for the first time, was filled with a rush of hatred at every foster home he'd been to that had ended up being incomparably shit. He wanted to do - something, wanted to hurt anyone who'd ever hurt Andrew because they thought he was an easy target. Instead, he reached across the table for Andrew's hand and, at the small nod he received, lifted it up to kiss his knuckles gently.

"Where's the nearest park?"

Andrew didn't respond. Instead, he tugged Neil to their bedroom, threw some clothes at him and demanded he get dressed. Neil couldn't help watching, though, as Andrew changed. He was wearing black skinny jeans and a black sweater and Neil thought it was really beautiful. The unimpressed look he sent Neil when he realised that he hadn't made any effort to get changed was less beautiful, but still so plainly Andrew that it didn't have the desired effect at all.

Still, he changed and headed out to the living room. Harry had returned, wearing a white t-shirt, blue jogging bottoms and plain black socks, and he'd settled Sir on his lap with surprisingly gentle hands raking through her fir. His eyes were full of wonder and Neil wanted to protect him from anyone who might try and take that away, and anyone who had already tried.

"Sir likes you," he said softly instead and Harry looked up at Neil excitedly.

"Really?"

"Really." Neil nodded. "Did I tell you her full name?" Harry shook his head. "Her name is Sir Fat Cat McCatterson." He giggled. "She's a tortoiseshell, which means that's she's supposed to bring us good luck."

"Does she?"

Neil nodded. "I think so. I mean... When we saw her at the shelter, they said that people didn't want to adopt her because she was so ugly. And apparently tortoiseshell cats have a pretty aggressive attitude." He frowned almost unconsciously. "But she's been nothing but gentle with us and anyone else she meets, and we fell in love with her straight away. And her brother, King Fluffkins. He's around here somewhere but he's not as nice as Sir."

Harry looked back down at Sir, stroking her reverently. "Does she really like me?"

Neil knelt down, tilting his ear towards Sir and hearing the telltale purring that vibrated out from her chest. "She loves you, Harry."

"... little shit, no, you're a bastard boy and you deserve no love!" Andrew entered the room, cradling King in his arms. "You are a bane on my existence." King meowed gently and booped Andrew on the chin. He grimaced. "Disgusting."

Harry gaped. "Kitty!"

"That's King," whispered Neil, then he raised his voice to speak to Andrew. "Where was he?"

"Causing trouble again," said Andrew, then he lifted King up in front of his face. "You are a loser and a scoundrel. You do not pay rent. You are a lazy layabout who likes to create problems. You are a menace."

"No!" Harry gasped. "Kitty!"

Andrew smiled a little as he set King down on the ground - just a little twitch upwards at the corners, but a smile nonetheless. Harry nudged at Sir until she jumped down, then he climbed off of the sofa and headed towards King, kneeling down and letting him sniff his hand. When King came closer, he patted at the top of his head gently. "Good kitty."

"Oh." Neil could hear, even from across the room, the moment when Andrew's breath left him, as he watched Harry tentatively pet the cat that had given Neil eight scratches in the first ten minutes they'd had him. " _Oh_."

"You ready to go to the park, Harry?" Neil headed over, squeezed Andrew's hand gently in his and ignored the way that Andrew clung to his in return.

"Yes yes yes!" Harry jumped to his feet, King all but forgotten as he hurried across the room towards them. "Mama never took me to the park!"

Andrew had to step away. He let go of Neil's hand and instead headed for the entryway where they'd hung up a new coat for Harry the day before. It was padded and navy blue, and they hoped that it would keep him warm so they never again had to worry that he would have hypothermia.

Neil took Harry's hand, helped him into his coat, did it up for him. He led him out to the car and Harry asked him to strap him in. Andrew walked around to the front seat and started the car. The radio was still on the same pop station as the day before, and Harry gasped and clapped, singing along to whatever was playing. Neil got into the passenger seat and Andrew drove off.

"Where is the nearest park?" Neil set his hand between them, palm up, and Andrew only sent it a cursory glance before reaching out to take it.

"Not far," he said gruffly. "You remember that ice cream place we went to a few weeks ago after that bad night?" Neil hummed an affirmative. "It's pretty much opposite."

"I didn't notice."

"It was late."

Neil hummed again and flicked his gaze up to the rearview mirror. Harry was bobbing his head along to the music, his mouth forming the words but he couldn't hear him singing anymore. He had a strange look of awe as he stared out the window.

"I was never allowed to go to parks," said Neil quietly. Andrew looked over at him for just a moment, then back at the road, but he squeezed his hand gently in support. "When I was still living in Baltimore, I wasn't allowed in case I made friends, because my... because Nathan didn't like it when I made friends. Thought it meant that I was inviting people into his business.

"Then when we were on the run, I wasn't allowed in the park because they're so loud, so busy. It's easy to draw attention to yourselves." Neil hesitated, then lifted Andrew's hand up to brush his lips against the knuckles. He was sure Andrew could feel the way his hands shook but he didn't mention it. "Harry deserves a better childhood than that."

Andrew squeezed his hand gently. "Remember that we might not get to keep him."

"I know." Neil sighed, then raised his voice enough that Harry knew he was talking to him. "Are you excited, Harry?"

Harry looked to the front and nodded enthusiastically. "I never been to a park."

Andrew pulled over outside the ice cream place and Neil knew in his soul that they would be stopping by before they went home. He climbed out and let Andrew get Harry out so that he wouldn't be getting out into a busy road. They crossed the road, entered the park, and let him go free, or at least they tried to.

Harry shuffled uncomfortably. The park was almost empty, with just one other child there, but Harry still looked overwhelmed. Andrew knelt down by his side. "Do you want one of us to go play with you?"  
Lifting his hand to stick his thumb in his mouth, Harry nodded shyly, holding his hand out to Andrew. Neil settled himself on the bench, watching as Harry took him all around the park. Andrew spun him on a roundabout and slid down the slide with him and Neil's heart was so full it hurt. He didn't even notice the woman sitting down beside him.

"How long have you had him?"

He jumped. She gave him a patient smile. "The kid?" She nodded. "Just got him yesterday."

"My wife and I adopted our Grace about a year ago," she said idly, gesturing towards the other child in the park, a little girl who looked to be about the same age as Harry. "She was so shy at first. We think she might have had some heavy-handed foster parents before us."

"We don't know much about Harry," admitted Neil. "We found him on our doorstep yesterday. The police are looking for his family."

"You aren't going to keep him?" She raised her eyebrows.

Neil sighed, tugging at his sleeve. "We want to," he admitted. "We're already so attached to the kid. He keeps doing cute things like playing with our cats and asking us to pick him up. But he might have actual family out there."

She eyed him for a moment then nodded and held her hand out to him. "Nina Sharp."

He shook it. "Neil Josten."

"Like the exy player?"

Neil wondered if the smile that came over his face was more smug or humble. He was hoping for humble but he had a feeling it was smug.

"Exactly."

"Oh. _Oh_." She looked towards where Andrew was holding Harry up as he tried to make his way across the monkey bars. "Oh!"

"That's the other thing we're going to need to consider," he added conversationally.

"Well, if-!" Nina was cut off by a loud chime from her phone. She pulled it out and read her text, sighing wistfully. "Sorry. That's my wife. She just got home." She shoved her phone back in her pocket and looked towards her child. "Grace! Mummy's home!"

The girl, who had been hovering near Andrew and Harry for the last few minutes, gasped and ran over. "Already? Can we go now?"

Nina laughed, swept her hair back and nodded, but not before holding out a piece of paper towards Neil. "If you need somebody to babysit while you're at matches."

"Thank you."

When it was just him, Andrew and Harry in the park, it felt bigger somehow. Harry started to get louder, shrieking and squealing as Andrew pretended to be a monster, and Neil wondered if he could let Harry go now that they'd both gotten to know him. He was a really sweet kid.

And then he skipped over to Neil and hugged him tightly around his middle, much to Neil's surprise.

"What's that for?"

Harry shrugged. "Just wanted to hug you." He squeezed again. "You're nicer than my mummy."

Andrew made his way over behind Harry, completely fixated on the way Harry clung to Neil.

"Shall we go get ice cream?"

Neil wasn't sure if Harry or Andrew looked more excited.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh okay so warnings? Um references to past child neglect, implied past child abuse. I don't think there's anything else but let me know?
> 
> Oh, explicit language but I feel like that's to be expected at this point.

It scared Neil how quickly Harry became a constant fixture in their lives. He woke them up in the mornings, they made him breakfast, spent the day doing their best to make him happy, and then put him to bed with a story and, more recently, as in the last few days, a kiss on the forehead.

The first time it happened, Neil had spent close to twenty minutes trembling in Andrew's embrace, doing his best to forget that this might not be forever.

He'd been there for a week when Andrew invited Aaron and Katelyn over to have a proper look at him, rather than just hastily stammered instructions over the phone when they'd first found him, pale and shivering, on their doorstep. At least, that was the excuse that Andrew gave, but Neil thought it might be deeper than that.

Harry's bruise had faded but they both knew the signs of child abuse and Neil thought that Andrew might want to make sure there weren't any more serious injuries that the two weren't aware of. A smaller part of Andrew, Neil thought, wanted Aaron and Katelyn to meet the child that they might be adopting, depending on the circumstances.

Neil, for the same reason, wasn't sure about having them over. He and Andrew were already so attached to Harry, already wanted to keep him for the rest of their lives. If it turned out that they didn't get to keep him, he wasn't sure he wanted other people to be attached as well, least of all Aaron who was, much to Neil's chagrin, very present in their lives.

Regardless of his worries, Andrew had called and invited them over for the afternoon when they'd had Harry for a week, and Neil had spent the morning fussing.

Harry had settled into a routine. He slipped into their bedroom to wake them up early every morning (Andrew said that Harry liked to watch them breathe for a moment, and he thought that maybe he was checking that they were still breathing), they talked for a little while, then they headed downstairs. Either Neil or Andrew would cook breakfast while the other distracted Harry, and after breakfast, Harry would go get dressed and them come downstairs to play with the cats.

Their house had become laden down with kids toys. The bookcase now had a whole shelf dedicated to books for Harry. They bought kids films and TV shows to watch when they couldn't quite muster up the energy to play with Harry themselves. He had crept into their lives and they spent so long trying to remember that they might not be keeping him.

Honestly, when the doorbell rang at about three-ish to drag them out of their thoughts, it was a welcome distraction.

Neil was sat on the floor with Harry in his lap, and King in Harry's lap. Harry had found the treats last night and was delighted by the way that King would eat them right out of his hand. Neil tipped another one into the tiny palm and watched as Harry held it out in offering to the beast.

Andrew got to his feet and opened the door.

Aaron always looked exhausted these days. He worked long hours, had a pregnant wife at home, and somehow still found the energy for regular Skype calls with Nicky, which would drain the energy out of everyone. At his side, Katelyn looked tired too, though that was probably more to do with the parasite sapping her energy from inside her womb.

"You look like shit." Andrew had never been one to shy away from the obvious.

Aaron rolled his eyes. "Nice to see you too." He yawned. "Are you going to let us in or what?"

Andrew stepped aside and Aaron led Katelyn into the living room. Andrew shuffled in after them, watching as Neil tipped another cat treat into Harry's hand and he held it out to King. King stretched his head and ate it, then lifted his paw and swiped at Harry's arm gently.

Neil instantly lifted King off of their laps and lifted Harry's arm to take a look at the scratch their beast had left behind. Harry seemed unbothered, a strange calm look in his eyes as he looked at the droplets of blood forming along the line.

Andrew swept King up, holding him up in front of his face. "You are a scoundrel. Your teenage rebellion is unacceptable. You're grounded for a week, young man."

Aaron blinked, turning to Katelyn. "He's talking to a cat, right?"

"This must be Harry!" Katelyn ignored him, beaming at the child sat in Neil's lap. "I'm Katelyn, and this is my husband, Aaron."

Harry followed her hand to Aaron, then his eyes widened and he looked for a minute between Andrew and Aaron before burrowing into Neil's chest.

"Clone," he mumbled and Neil laughed, brushing his hair back gently.

"Aaron is Andrew's twin." Neil lifted him properly into his arms and then stood up, approaching Aaron. "It means that they were in their mummy's belly together before they were born."

Harry hummed quietly. "Aaron." He watched Aaron carefully, then turned his head away to look at Andrew. "Andrew."

Neil chuckled. "Aaron's a doctor, Harry. Is it okay if he takes a look at you?"

Harry tangled his fists in Neil's t-shirt. "Stay."

"Oh." Neil's heart swelled until it felt too big for his chest, too big for his body. It was an overwhelming bubble of emotion, the passion of which he didn't often feel without Andrew's intervention. "Oh. Of course, yeah. Yeah, I'll stay, of course I will."

Aaron was methodical as he checked over Harry. He asked him to lift his shirt, made sure he had Harry's permission before he nudged at his ribs (deemed them to be in good condition), checked over some bruises at the base of Harry's back that neither of them had noticed. He took a quick look at the bruise on Harry's head but declared that if he had a concussion, it was better now. He checked for scratches or scars all along Harry's arms and legs and he found a few half-moon shaped scars around his upper arm but aside from that, there was nothing. Unfortunately, they all knew what the half-moon shaped scars meant.

Andrew went outside for a few minutes after Aaron pointed them out; when he returned, he smelled of smoke. Trying to quit was difficult when there was a clearly at least neglected child under their care.

When Aaron was done, Neil helped Harry to put his shirt back on and handed him a few cat treats, which he held out in a peace offering to Sir and King, who'd crept inside and settled themselves on the back of the sofa. Andrew took a seat on the floor at Neil's side, and Neil read the tension in his shoulders.

"We've got him now," he mumbled and Andrew nodded tightly.

"But for how long?"

Neil didn't respond, instead turning his head to watch Harry as he gave Sir the last of the treats, and then turned to face Katelyn, who was sat on the arm of the sofa with her hands pressed against the bulge of her stomach.

"Do you have a baby in your belly?" Harry whispered, shuffling shyly. Neil felt Andrew slide his hand into Neil's.

Katelyn smiled softly. "Yeah. Do you want to feel?"

Harry's eyes widened in wonder as he shuffled closer, nodding. Katelyn gently took one of his hands in hers and pressed it against her stomach. He was silent for a moment and then he gasped loudly. She smiled.

"Was that the baby?"

Katelyn nodded. "She's a little girl. We're still trying to decide what to name her. What do you think?"

Harry hummed for a moment, tapping his chin with his finger. "Anna."

"That's a pretty name." Katelyn smoothed his hair back gently.

He preened. "That's what Mummy's friends call her."

For a moment, everything froze. Andrew had been tracing the scars on the back of Neil's hand, but at those words, his hand stilled. Neil could feel the tension through his entire body but he couldn't figure out how to relax it. Katelyn tilted her head thoughtfully, and Aaron openly stared over at Andrew.

Neil reached into his pocket with his free hand, and dialled the number that Officer Henson had given them for emergencies.

"Hello?"

Neil took a slow breath. "Officer Henson?"

"Yes, is this Mr Josten?"

"Yes." He squeezed Andrew's hand gently. "We've been talking to Harry. And he told us that his mother's name is Anna."

Henson hummed through the phone. "Anna Wilson. That sounds familiar, I think. Tell you what, I'll look into it and see what I find, keep you updated. Sound good?"

"Thank you." Neil hung up before Henson could say any more, and leaned against Andrew.

"Hey, Harry?" He called quietly and Harry looked up from Katelyn's stomach to watch him closely. "Why don't you show Aaron and Katelyn how good you can read?"

He did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aight i know, i have no idea how to end a chapter. i'll practise or whatever.
> 
> Also I know I said every Friday but I'm moving back to university next Saturday? So I'm going to do my best to get the next chapter out then but no promises.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anything, I wanna let you know that this chapter is pretty much entirely unedited and I think shorter than the other chapters? As I said, I'm moving back to uni tomorrow so this whole past week has been a major clusterfuck and I haven't had much time for writing. That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> It's also most likely very OOC. I don't know how to write Kevin. I will not apologise (but actually I will because I can do better lmao)
> 
> I don't actually think there are any warnings for this chapter? Like not even explicit language? Which honestly is more shocking than anything that actually happens in this chapter tbh.

It was a few days after Aaron and Katelyn's visit that Neil and Andrew were torn away from reading with Harry by a fierce pounding at the door. They exchanged a quick look, but Neil was already on his feet and moving to open it before either of them got around to saying anything. In hindsight, it was a terrible idea, given that Neil was still technically employed by an extremely dangerous crime family, but truth be told, he wasn't thinking all that much.

Fortunately, on the other side was Queen of Exy, Kevin Day, wearing simple workout gear, carrying his Exy bag and pouting.

"You didn't invite me over to meet your son."

Neil blinked. He blinked again. It took him a long minute to figure out what he was saying.

"I mean really, Neil, I'm practically your brother, I've known you since you were ten years old, I can't believe you haven't brought me around to meet my nephew." Kevin leaned to one side, putting his hand on his hip.

Neil frowned. "He's not our son?"

Kevin fixed him with an unimpressed look that was usually reserved for when Neil insisted that he was fine when he was very clearly not. "Isn't he though?"

Neil sighed. "Whatever, Kevin. Come in then."

He beamed as he stepped over the threshold and headed into the sitting room. In Neil's absence, Harry had all but curled up in Andrew's lap, one hand holding the book open in front of them and the other just resting in Sir's fur where she was sat next to them. Andrew scoffed as Kevin entered the room.

Harry looked up. "Hi!"

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Hello. I'm Kevin. I'm Neil's brother."

"He's not."

Kevin turned an offended look on Neil and he sighed, turning to face Harry. "Kevin is my best friend and I've known him since I was ten years old. So he likes to call himself my brother."

"Usually you don't deny it," he whined.

"Usually there isn't a five year old boy who would be confused," scoffed Neil. "This is my best friend, Kevin. Kev, this is Harry."

"Hi, Harry." Kevin crouched down until he was at Harry's height. "Do you know how to play Exy?"

Andrew groaned, tilted his head back until it hit the wall. Neil's heart jumped - he hadn't considered that that was an option.

Harry shook his head slowly. "Mummy never let me play sports."

"Oh." Kevin turned to check both Neil and Andrew for a reaction, but seeing the anger written in every inch of their bodies and radiating from their eyes, he turned back to Harry. "Well, do you want to learn?"

Harry nodded slowly, then looked up at Andrew. "Can I, Daddy?"

Andrew froze. Neil froze. Kevin, apparently having lost his survival instincts and general cowardice since college, turned to send a smug look in Neil's direction. Andrew smoothed his hand through Harry's hair.

"Of course you can, Harry." He tugged gently at his hair for a moment. "But you know I'm not your daddy, right?"

Harry's face fell. "Oh."

"We would love to keep you around," he continued slowly, "but you might have your actually family out there. Wouldn't you want to go back to them?"

When Harry said nothing, Andrew just helped him to his feet.

"Go on," he said, his voice softer than Neil thought he'd ever heard it. "Go learn how to play Exy. Maybe Neil can come out and play with you in a bit too."

Harry beamed up and scrambled towards Kevin. "Can I really?"

Kevin stood up, sweeping a gentle hand through his blonde locks. "Of course you can, Harry."

"Go easy on him, Kev!" Neil called after him, but let them go as he settled into the spot next to Andrew where he had been before Kevin's arrival. "That sucked."

"We're going to have to give him away." Andrew's voice was hoarse. "You know that? I mean... I don't think he's completely alone in the world. He's got to have a family out there somewhere. We won't get to keep him."

"I know." Neil knew it almost as soon as he realised that he was attached to Harry, but hearing it spoken out loud yet again hurt. "We'll just have to take good care of him until then."

Andrew nodded, then in a rare display of affection, he leaned over and pressed his lips to Neil's temple.

"Go join them, Junkie."

Playing Exy with a five year old who'd never played it before was a very different experience to playing it with his teammates or even playing in Little League with other kids. Neil and Kevin were both doing their level best to simplify their footwork, to dumb down the rules, and to make sure that Harry knew exactly what was going on. The gear Kevin had brought was just slightly too big and the racquet was almost taller than him, but he was laughing and every time he ducked around Kevin and passed the ball to Neil, he would giggle and Neil's heart would swell.

They decided to play a strange 2 vs 1 version, in which one of them was on each team, and the third person switched depending on who had the ball. Harry asked if he could be the third person, which Neil was unable to say no to, but it became increasingly clear that he didn't really understand it because no matter who passed to him, he would always pass to Neil.

Neil tried his best not to express his emotion on his face, but knowing that Harry wanted to pass to him only was overwhelming. It was also possible that he was getting some strong maternal instincts. He mentioned that to Kevin, who questioned why his instincts were maternal and not paternal. Neil didn't dignify that question with an answer (he didn't know how to answer it without sounding both stereotypical and incredibly sexist, both of which he did his best to avoid being).

Finally, they convinced Harry to be against Kevin with Neil as the third, which worked out well because Harry was always passing to Neil anyway. Kevin, to Neil's surprise, decided to take it easy on both of them, and when Harry got past Kevin and scored his first goal, he let out the tiniest little roar and ran to Neil, holding his arms out to him. Neil picked him up without a second thought, settling him on his hip and jumping around in excitement. Even Kevin cheered for Harry.

They didn't even realise for an hour that Andrew had locked them outside.

He let them in eventually, obviously, because Andrew was many things but among those things was the Mum Friend, which meant that he would make sure they ate three healthy meals a day if it killed him. It was during lunch that Neil's phone started ringing with a call from Officer Henson. He stepped out into the hallway to answer.

"Hello?"

"Mr Josten?" Officer Henson sounded more serious than Neil had ever heard him. "We need you to come into the station."

"Is everything okay?"

"You'll need to bring the kid." Henson paused for a moment. "We've found his parents."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this was a mess to write. I mean, I'm happy with it obviously. But I was writing it between packing and moving and settling in and helping my flatmate move in so it's not bad but it's a bit of a clusterfuck and honestly, not too sure about the ending but yeah, here it is. Thanks for reading, I guess.
> 
> Warnings include references to an overdose (it's not described in detail), brief mentions of a car accident (again, not detailed), and I don't remember for sure, but there's probably some explicit language in there somewhere.

The clock in the police station was obnoxiously loud.

Neil could feel it as though vibrating through his chest, tingling up and down his spine. Harry was curled up on his lap, tugging at his t-shirt and he listened vaguely to his ramblings, but he couldn’t focus on anything other than the fact that Harry - their Harry - was about to be taken away from them.

Though, that wasn’t accurate really. If they’d found his parents then he wasn’t being taken away from them so much as he was being given back. It still hurt, and he knew that Andrew would feel the same if he could stop pacing for long enough to let himself feel that way. As it was, he traced the same straight line in front of Neil and Harry over and over again.

They’d left the house as soon as they’d hung up on Officer Henson and got Harry into his coat, but when they’d arrived at the police station, Henson hadn’t been there to greet them and so his stomach was turning in knots the more time passed.

Andrew turned at the end of his lap and took a seat beside Neil, reaching his hand out in offering. Neil pulled one hand away from Harry’s back to intertwine his fingers with Andrew’s.

“Mr Josten?”

He looked up, stroking one hand over the back of Harry’s head. Officer Henson was making his way over to them, hands clasped behind his back solemnly. Behind him trailed a woman with blonde hair and black stilettos that must have hurt like a bitch.

“Officer Henson.” Neil stood up, taking his hand back from Andrew to support Harry as he did so. “It’s good to see you again.”

“I only wish the circumstances could be better,” he replied. “Shall we walk?”

Neil glanced back at Andrew, searching for the support that he needed and finding it written behind his eyes as he stood up as well and let his fingers brush just lightly over Neil’s forearm.

Officer Henson led them to an office at the back of the station, the woman following along behind them every step of the way. With the blonde hair that matched Harry’s almost perfectly, Neil was sure that this was his mother, and he wondered if he should pass Harry over now that she was here, but Harry hadn’t mentioned anything so he kept him close for a little bit longer.

Once inside the office, Officer Henson gestured for Neil and Andrew to take a seat on the other side of the desk, while he sat behind it and the woman stayed stood up next to the door.

“This is Marie James,” he said, gesturing towards her.

Neil’s head flashed to look at her. “I thought…” He looked down at Harry, then back up at Officer Henson. “What’s going on?”

“I work at the morgue,” said Marie lowly. “When I heard that the police were looking for an Anna Wilson, I realised that I could help.”

“His mother is dead?”

“Very recently, in fact,” she confirmed. “She was brought in after a drug overdose just a few weeks ago. No living family members that we were aware of, with the exception of her son who was missing.”

“Harry.” Neil gently ran a hand up and down his spine, soothing him of the presence of strangers as much as possible.

Officer Henson nodded. “Harry Wilson was born to Anna and Lewis Wilson. Lewis Wilson, unfortunately, passed away in a car accident before Harry was even born. His mother passed away just a few weeks ago.”

“You said his mother had no living relatives,” said Andrew and Neil wasn’t generally one to assume, but he thought that he could hear hope in his voice. “And his father?”

“No living relatives.” Officer Henson rested his elbows on the desk, eyeing both of them with a small glint in his eyes. “Which, of course, means that we could move him to another foster home, if that’s what you want. Or, as I assume you’d prefer, the two of you can adopt him.”

There were few times in Neil’s life that he could say he’d felt pure joy. One had been finding out that even after knowing who he was, the Foxes still wanted to keep him. Another had been when Andrew had declared that the two of them would be getting married. Another was right now.

He hated to become a stereotype, but his heart was pounding in his chest and for what must have been the first time in his entire life, he didn’t feel the urge to wipe away the smile that overtook his face. Andrew stretched out a hand, tapping at Harry’s arm gently and Neil took the hint.

“Can we have a moment to discuss it, please?”

“Absolutely.” Officer Henson got to his feet. “I’ll walk Miss James out, and we can discuss the technicalities of it when I get back, if that works for you?” Neil nodded in confirmation and Officer Henson led Marie out the door.

Neil gently nudged at Harry’s shoulder until he sat back to look them both in the eyes. “Did you understand what Officer Henson just said, Harry?”

He rubbed at his eyes sleepily. “Mama died.”

“Yes,” said Andrew. “But if you’re okay with it, we could take care of you now.”

“So…” Harry tapped at his chin. “You would be my daddy?”

“If that’s what you want.” Andrew nodded.

Harry looked up at Neil. “And you too?”

“Yeah, Harry.” Neil glanced up at Andrew and was surprised by the softness in his gaze as he looked down at Harry. He looked back. “Is that what you want?”

Harry hummed quietly. “Yeah,” he said after a moment. “Yeah. I want you to be my daddies. Is that okay?”

“That’s more than okay, Harry,” said Andrew. “We would be delighted.”

Of course, it wasn't as simple as that, and it was hours again before they could take Harry home as their son. They signed through a series of forms, talked to a social worker, and on the way home, they stopped to get some furniture and paint now that Harry would be a permanent fixture in their lives.

When it got dark, they tucked Harry into his own bed but within the hour, he'd curled up between them in theirs, each of their shirts clasped in his little fists. Neil lifted a hand and wrapped it around Harry's, leaning his hand down to lay a gentle kiss over his knuckles. Over his shoulder, he caught Andrew's eyes.

"Goodnight," he said quietly, and his boys said nothing but Harry snuggled in closer and Andrew laid a hand on his waist.

Harry woke them up that night with a nightmare, sobbing into Andrew's chest about how his mummy would be so angry with him. They strapped him into the car and took him on a drive.

Neil had grown to appreciate the benefits of a long drive with Andrew at the wheel. Having their son in the backseat made his heart full.


End file.
